laudablepuss wrote:

TAFKAM wrote:

laudablepuss wrote:

TAFKAM wrote:

Certainly I think the issue of race as a factor will not go away from this equation," the Rev. Jesse Jackson told CNN on Friday.

"We have great tolerance for black suffering and black marginalization," he added. "And today those who are suffering the most, in fact, in New Orleans certainly are black people."

Jackson, who was in New Orleans helping with the relief effort, described appalling conditions: "Today I saw 5,000 African-Americans on the I-10 causeway desperate, perishing, dehydrated, babies dying," he said. "It looked like Africans in the hull of a slave ship. It was so ugly and so obvious."

Here we go.

Well, clearly the overwhelming majority of people stranded in New Orleans by Katrina were black. That acknowlegement comes with some implications, whether you like them or not.

Yes, and I submit that the line between those who left and those who stayed behind was ECONOMIC, rather than ethnic. That the ethnicity falls into the 'have not' line is the root cause that he should address - Work to further your own people, not stand by and try and parlay the tragedy into your politics score. Bad form to invoke the slave ship reference, too. That oughta rally your less-than-intelligent muppets behind your flag.

Sure, of course it's economic. In all seriousness, that's undeniable. But with the sarcasm tags on, it's probably just a coincidence that all of the poor people were also black.

If you can't see it for what it is, namely alarmist pandering and political rabble-rousing then I can't help you, LP. That most of the victims were/are black was an observation, but taking it to the next level and claiming it fell into Massa's master plan is bullshit of the highest order.

I didn't ask for help, thanks. I guess I should've said outright that the mention of slave ships was over the top and absurd. But getting angry at a politician for pandering to his base is like getting mad at fish for living in the water. Jackson probably won't help matters much with his rhetoric, it's true. But smarter people might be able to talk about this in a more meaningful way. Or maybe you just wanted me to say "Yeah, you're so right! High five!"?